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In the midst of depressing news of how a state in the South-East has been made the personal estate of father and son, going by revelations said to emanate from Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), it is heartening to also hear and see signs of good governance in other states. The icing, for this commentator, is that the good signs are coming from relatively young people. The immediate past governor of Abia State, Senator Theodore Orji and his son have reportedly stashed away billions of state funds in 100 accounts. The former governor and his son have trended in social media, in a media trial that may eventually become real, given that the EFCC may, indeed, have gathered enough evidence to nail the duo in court. It would be historic in the annals of Nigeria’s convictions on corruption, if father and son end their sojourn in prison. The matter has not been decided, which is why it will be too early for their traducers to gloat. They may have a defense with which their lawyers may get them off the hook. They bestrode the power architecture in the state, and could get whatever they wanted. The father did eight years as governor and went on to become senator, following in the footsteps of many other governors. But it appeared that his deeds as governor lay in wait for him, as the EFCC oiled its machinery of investigation. The son went on to become a member of the state House of Assembly, and was elected Speaker. The state seemed to have been handed the short end of the stick in their era. Many people hold that the state is still light years away from where it ought to be. People hardly learn from history, which is why it keeps repeating itself. The hope is that those at the helm now navigate away from the slippery banana peels of embezzlement temptingly starring them in the face.
The forgoing seem to have become the hallmark of governance in Nigeria; in the recent past, no less than three governors in the Niger-Delta region have been sentenced and jailed in for their misdeeds in the areas of looting public funds. Some past governors in the northern parts, and virtually all parts of the nation, have lined their pockets with public funds. Some of them were relatively young when they came to power. I recall that when the agitation to get young people into governance was on the front burner, former President Olusegun Obasanjo would derisively point at some of those young governors who allegedly pilfered state funds, and use it to do birthdays for their father in many capitals of the world, insisting that those young people in governance at the time were bad testimonies for youths agitating to hold the lever of power. The young man in Abia who allegedly joined his father in milking the state has joined the league of bad examples if the allegation is proven.
In recent times, some young people have also come into governance, and shown that all hope is not lost. As the saying goes, morning shows the day, and those people have, through their first steps in governance, shown that they have good things up their sleeves. They have often taken the right step in the right direction. Two of the newly elected Governors have shown that all hope is not lost on the matter of governance. Governor Seyi Makinde, 52, and Babagana Zulum, 50, are relatively young. The former governs Oyo State, and the later governs Borno. Both men have shown that integrity and good governance can come from young people. Some may argue that dawn does not show how bright a day may be, but the tentative steps of a child learning to walk is enough evidence that such child would ultimately do so. Makinde, for instance, had told contractors that any attempt to offer him any form of gratification would result in loss of the contract. He knows that when you receive such gratification, you lose your right to question the quality of work given that you know that by your act, you have reduced the contract value, and cannot in good conscience question low quality. Makinde is said to have given so much attention to education in Oyo state, including recruitment of new teachers, that parents now withdraw their children from private schools, for public ones. when the Court gave a recent judgment about his election without any consequential orders, creating some confusion about his status as governor, virtually all groups in the state told him they had his back, on account of the early good signs he had shown in governance. Makinde had made his declaration of assets public, even when the law did not compel him to do so. He must have done that to put a check on himself, and give the public a gauge to measure him, after office. The office is transient but the impact you make there would stay long after you are gone, and even become the currency with which your children buy favour.
Professor Babagana Zulum, an Engineer, and Governor of Insurgency-stricken Borno State is another young man who has shown great signs of hope in governance, one who has shown that the same broom ought not be used to sweep away all politicians, and in this case, young people. Zulum has made civil servants in the state to sit up, and be at their duty post when necessary. When he paid an unscheduled visit to the state secretariat at opening time, absentees do not have a good story to tell. The indictment, and consequent punishment, did not exclude the top echelon of the service. The other day, a school teacher got a cash reward for being school early, and a consequent promotion to Assistant Head Teacher . Zulum has confronted soldiers for exploiting his people at checkpoints, and not being where they should when insurgents attack his people. He was distressed the other day when soldiers attacked. He told them to their face that they were derelict in their duty. In barely eight months, he has shown, even to the praise of opposition party in his state, that he is cut out to make a difference in governance. Governors Seyi Makinde and Babagana Zululm have shown that there is light at the end of the tunnel in governance in Nigeria. I pray they remain faithful to the end.
